Kimberly D. Olson (born October 24, 1957) is an American non-profit executive, politician, and retired military officer from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. She served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

for 25 years, reaching the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. She was the Democratic Party nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner in the

2018 elections The following elections occurred in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general election 7 and 31 ...

and a candidate in the

2020 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

seeking to represent in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Early life and education

Olson was born in

Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 89,321, makin ...

. Her parents were teachers in the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

. Olson grew up on her family's farm in

New Hampton, Iowa New Hampton is a city in and the county seat of Chickasaw County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,494 at the time of the 2020 census. History New Hampton was founded 1855. It is named after New Hampton, New Hampshire, the native t ...

, and lived on military bases in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. She graduated from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1979 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in education. She also earned

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degrees in national security and strategic studies from the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

and in national security strategy from the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

, as well as

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The university has an alumni net ...

Career

Military service

Olson joined the

in 1979. She was the first woman to go through flight training at

Laughlin Air Force Base Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas. Overview Laughlin AFB, the largest Aviator, pilot training base in the US Air Force, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Educa ...

and became one of the first female pilots in the Air Force. She served as a squadron commander of the

96th Air Refueling Squadron The 96th Air Refueling Squadron was a unit of PACAF's 15th Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii in partnership with the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron and 154th Maintenance Group of the Hawaii Air National Guard. It was inactivated ...

out of

Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned ...

, becoming one of only eight female squadron commanders. Olson reached the rank of

in 2000, and was assigned to the

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

's office in

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

in early 2003. In 2003, General

Jay Garner Jay Montgomery Garner (born April 15, 1938) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who in 2003 was appointed as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, ma ...

, the director of the

Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance The Coalition Provisional Authority (; , CPA) was a transitional government of Iraq established following the invasion of the country on 19 March 2003 by U.S.-led Coalition forces. The invasion marked the fall of the Ba'athist regime led by ...

, selected Olson to be his executive officer in helping to rebuild Iraq after

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. Three months into the role, Garner was replaced by

Paul Bremer Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is a retired American diplomat. He was the second ''de facto'' head of state of Iraq as leader of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United State ...

, and the Department of Defense charged Olson with providing improper assistance to a private security firm from South Africa. Though she denies the allegations, Olson accepted a

non-judicial punishment In the United States Armed Forces, Non-judicial punishment (NJP) is a disciplinary measure that may be applied to individual military personnel, without a need for a court martial or similar proceedings. General In the United States Armed Force ...

rather than face a potential

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

by pleading guilty to administrative violations and accepting a written reprimand. She was allowed to retire with an honorable discharge without a reduction in rank, which she received in May 2005. After her discharge, Olson founded Grace After Fire, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that aids female military veterans when they return to civilian life. She also wrote a memoir, ''Iraq and Back: Inside the War to Win the Peace'', which was published in 2006.

Politics

In 2007, Olson became the Director of Human Resources for the

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas, United States. It operates schools in much of Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and t ...

. That year, she was elected to the

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

of the Weatherford Independent School District (WISD), representing Place 3. She resigned her seat, effective September 1, 2011, because she and her husband decided to move out of Weatherford, which made her ineligible to serve on the WISD school board. In the

, Olson ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

against Sid Miller for Texas Agriculture Commissioner. Miller defeated Olson in a close election. Olson ran for the

in in the

. She advanced to a runoff election against Candace Valenzuela for the Democratic nomination. Olson was defeated by Valenzuela in the runoff, earning 39.6% of the vote compared to Valenzuela's 60.4%. Following the run-off, Olson spent the rest of the election season raising money for women running for office in Texas. Through her PAC, WomenWin, Olson donated funds to dozens of women running for state house, county commissioner and judicial races.

Personal life

Olson met her husband, Kent, while they both served as flight instructors for the Air Force in Arizona. They have an adult son and daughter and one grandchild, and live on a farm in

Mineral Wells, Texas Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto County, Texas, Palo Pinto and Parker County, Texas, Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 14,820 at the 2020 census. The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly ...

. Olson is a

Master Gardener Master Gardener programs (also known as Extension Master Gardener Programs) are Volunteering, volunteer programs that train individuals in the science and Landscape design, art of gardening. These individuals pass on the information they learned ...

. In 2014, she was inducted into the

Texas Women's Hall of Fame The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor's Commission on Women. The honorees are selected biennially from submissions from the public. The honorees must be either native Texans or a resident of Texas at the time of t ...

Bibliography

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Kim Living people Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology alumni People from Mineral Wells, Texas School board members in Texas Texas Democrats United States Air Force officers 1957 births People from Waukegan, Illinois People from New Hampton, Iowa Military personnel from Illinois American gardeners Naval War College alumni National Defense University alumni Webster University alumni Military personnel from Texas Military personnel from Iowa Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections